[E-rundbrief] Info 235 - Militarisierung in Hawaii u. USA

[Matthias Reichl]

E-Rundbrief - Info 235 -  Not In Our Name-Hawai`i (NION) Newsletter 
25.5.2005: Resistance 2005 (gegen Bush) in Honolulu. Stop UARC (Honolulu, 
Hawai'i): Gewaltfreie Proteste einer Bürgerinneninitiatve gegen die 
Militarisierung der Universität Hawai'i durch die US-Navy und ihr Programm 
UARC. Proteste gegen Soldatenrekrutierungen in US-Colleges. George Bush on 
dog poo. (Siehe auch E-Rundbrief - Info 228 -  Stop UARC, Honolulu, Hawai'i)

Bad Ischl, 27.5.2005

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Not In Our Name-Hawai`i

Newsletter May 25, 2005

1. Saturday, July 2nd: Resistance 2005 at Thomas Square!
2. 100,000 faces project
3. What's Happening with the Stop UARC Campaign?
4. Anti-Recruitment campaign stepping up
5. George Bush on dog poo.

Resistance 2005: A Better World Is Possible!

On the first day of the Independence Day Weekend beat down Bush-induced 
depression by participating in an act of real Independence - a Festival of 
Resistance at Thomas Square! The right wing has proven that they can 
organize their neo-conservatives and right-wing fundamentalist supporters. 
It's way past time for us to come together and strengthen our movement for 
peace and justice. Silence will not protect us!

NION-Hawai`i is calling on all organizations opposed to Bush's programme of 
war and repression to set up a booth, have a display, organize a community 
mural... If you're a member of an organization that is negatively effected 
by Bush's policies, make sure your organization represents! Environmental 
organizations, labor unions, peace and justice groups, glbt advocates, 
women's organizations, homeless advocacy groups, progressive religious 
groups, cultural clubs, science clubs. We're all being attacked by Bush's 
right-wing, war-mongering agenda. Let's meet each other. Let's let the 
community know who we are. And let's have fun at the same time!

Story-tellers, stiltwalkers, puppeteers, poets, drummers, performance 
artists, live artists, jugglers, dancers, clowns: we need you to 
participate! Let your creativity go wild. NION is setting up a single stage 
and will have musicians, poets, and other special guests. But Thomas Square 
if BIG and we have the whole park! Get your group together and appropriate 
the shade of a tree to set yourself up. Or construct a game (how about a 
Bush dunking booth?) Let us know how you'd like to participate. Just let us 
know what you're doing. You can help plan the overall event by coming to 
our thursday evening meetings (7-8:30 at The Friends Meeting House).

Contact us with your questions, your ideas, and your commitment. E-mail 
nionhawaii at yahoo.com.

100,000 Faces Project

On July 2nd we'll be showing a portion of the 100,000 Faces Project and we 
hope to have it completed by September! This is a reminder to clip pictures 
of faces of Iraqi people from newspapers and magazines, or to download them 
from the Internet. Pictures can be black and white or color, and of any 
size. Glue them to a posterboard collage-style. Get your families, school 
mates, and friends involved.

We've seen a few of the posters that have already been completed and know 
that the finalized display will be powerful. 100,000 has been chosen 
because that is the approximate number of Iraqi civilians that have been 
killed since the US led war was launched in 2003. This project will help 
remember them. But it will take hundreds of us to make this Project really 
fully happen.

The Stop UARC Campaign

Our last newsletter provided NION's summation of the occupation. When the 
occupation of Bachman Hall ended, the understanding that the protesters had 
was that Interim President McClain had agreed to produce all documents 
relating to negotiations between University of Hawaii (UH) and the Navy to 
the Coalition within 10 days, that the administration would provide ongoing 
information on any consultations regarding UARC that the UH administration 
was involved with, and that the administration would not report to the 
Board of Regents on UARC until the October meeting.

The Coalition attempted to set up a meeting with President McClain 10 days 
after the occupation ended. McClain refused to meet with the group and did 
not produce the promised documents. Instead he claimed "extenuating 
circumstances" and said the documents would be produced at some undisclosed 
time in the future, and that he would only meet with individuals from the 
coalition, and not the coalition as a whole. He then proceeded to lock down 
Bachman Hall. For the first time since Bachman Hall opened, visitors to 
Bachman have to go to the back door and pass through formidable security. 
Furthermore, the Coalition understands that UH has entered into an 
agreement with the Sheriff's Department and HPD as to what "level of force" 
they are authorized to use against Bachman protesters in the future. All of 
these draconian measures because students and faculty demanded the 
administration to carry out open and fair consultations on the increasing 
militarization and th The StopUARC campaign has only just begun. Activists 
will continue to monitor the administration throughout the summer, and will 
continue to do outreach in the community to inform people about UARC (and 
counter the lies that are being spread). It is anticipated that the real 
show-down will be in October since McClain has made his intentions to 
present UARC to the Board of Regents' October meeting. In the meantime, the 
University is continuing to negotiate the terms of the contract with the 
Navy as though UARC is going to happen, even in the absence of open and 
fair consultation.

It is difficult to organize during the summer. The fact that the Coalition 
was able to hold a very successful press conference with more than 20 
participants on May 18th (when there were no classes) is a measure of the 
commitment of the Coalition. And that many UH graduates wore the now 
familiar large green signs saying "SAVE UH, STOP UARC" on their caps and 
gowns at graduation was a strong indication to the administration that the 
fight is far from over.

Not In Our Name-Hawai`i is firmly opposed to UARC and is working with the 
StopUARC Coalition. We urge you to relate to the Coalition directly by 
signing on to their newsletter (similar to NION's newsleter), and by 
checking the Coalition's website regularly at http://www.stopuarc.info. To 
receive a copy of the Stop UARC newsletter, please e-mail us asking to 
receive it and we'll make sure you're on their e-list.

Anti-Recruitment Campaign/ GI Resistance

On Tuesday, May 10th, about 20 protesters lined Kapiolani Blvd in front of 
the Marine and Army recruitment offices with signs reading "Support GI 
Resistance", "Stop the War", "Support Pablo Paredes and Kevin Benderman", 
"6,000 AWOL - the Real Heroes of the War" and waving the blue earth flags. 
Police were there when protesters arrived, and within minutes more of their 
big SUV's had pulled up on adjacent sidewalks and were blocking 
pedestrians. The recruitment offices were locked down. Clearly worried! 
There were similar actions across the U.S. the same day.

The following day, Pablo Paredes went to military trial for missing his 
ship bound for the Persian Gulf. What happened in the trial was 
unprecedented! One of Pablo's charges was dropped. The judge did not 
sentence him to jail time. And, most importantly, an argument on the 
legality of the war itself was allowed, and the judge found that a 
reasonable person could believe that not only the war in Iraq, but the wars 
in Afghanistan, Guantanamo and Yugoslavia, were unjust and illegal. AND the 
judge ruled that a GI does not give up his right to dissent when he signs 
up, and is free to exercise his first amendment rights. This is an 
incredible finding that could have major consequences. The trial of Kevin 
Benderman was continued. For an article by war resister Camilo Mejia on his 
own case, as well as the status of Paredes' case, go to: Mejia.

And the anti-recruitment campaign is also heating up! We've all been 
reading/hearing sob stories about how the military recruiters haven't been 
meeting their quotas. Others have been run off of college campuses. Well, 
it looks like it's getting worse for them. This past week high school 
students at Garfield High School in Seattle were the first to tell military 
recruiters to stay off their campus! A Reuters report follows:

Seattle high school seeks military recruiter ban
24 May 2005 23:44:28 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Linda Thomas

SEATTLE, May 24 (Reuters) - A high school in Seattle has become the first 
in the United States to tell the military that it is no longer welcome on 
campus because recruiters unfairly target poor inner-city teens to fight 
the U.S. war on terror.

"Who goes to fight wars? It's not George Bush's kids or senators' kids or 
Donald Rumsfeld's nieces and nephews," said Amy Hagopian, co-chairwoman of 
the Parent Teacher Student Association, PTSA, at Garfield High School.

"It's poor kids who fight wars," Hagopian said.

Earlier in May, the PTSA passed a resolution that said: "Students should 
not be harassed by military recruiters... The U.S. military should not 
recruit in public schools."

Despite that, the school has no legal authority to keep recruiters off 
campus. Under federal law, all school districts are required to release the 
names and contact information of students to military recruiters.

The issue at Garfield High is part of a national debate as the military 
struggles to replenish its numbers for the war on terror and the war in Iraq.

The U.S. Supreme Court said earlier this month it will consider whether the 
government can withhold funding from colleges that bar military recruiters.

"We offer a lot in terms of skill training and money for furthering 
education," said Douglas Smith, a spokesman for U.S. Army Recruiting 
Command in Fort Knox, Kentucky. The United States has relied on an 
all-volunteer military since the draft ended on July 1, 1973.

Garfield is an inner-city high school where one-third of the 1,600 students 
are black in a city that is predominantly white and Asian.

On Monday, more than 100 high school and college students protested at 
three military recruiting offices in Seattle.

The National PTA, based in Chicago, supports the Seattle parent-teacher 
group's action. PTA President Linda Hodge said the resolution is a first 
step toward "holding lawmakers accountable to their communities."

Hodge said she knew of no other PTA group in the country that had asked 
military recruiters to stay away from school.

In September 2004, the Army had 6,128 recruiters. By the first week of May 
this year, that number had risen to 7,545.

"One of the impediments to recruiting is the ongoing war on terrorism," 
Smith said. "With physical dangers and the risk of death, recruiters have 
to spend more time and energy talking through what enlisting now holds for 
an individual and their families."

George Bush on Dog Poo

There are a million jokes about GWB on the Internet, and we have a policy 
against passing them on in our newsletter, but this one is real news from 
Germany. Not big news, but added to bring a smile...

"Police in Germany are hunting pranksters who have been sticking miniature 
flag portraits of US President George W. Bush into piles of dog poo in 
public parks. Josef Oettl, parks administrator for Bayreuth, said: "This 
has been going on for about a year now, and there must be 2,000 to 3,000 
piles of excrement that have been claimed during that time."

The incidents were originally believed to be some sort of protest against 
the US-led invasion of Iraq, but, when they continued, they were thought to 
be a protest against President George W. Bush's campaign for re-election. 
They're still going on, however, and the police say they are completely 
baffled as to who is to blame. "We have sent out extra patrols to try to 
catch whoever is doing this in the act," said police spokesman Reiner 
Kuechler. "But frankly," he continued, "we don't know what we'd do if we 
caught them red-handed."

Legal experts say there is no law against using feces as a flag stand and 
the Federal Constitution is vague on the issue.

(Siehe auch E-Rundbrief - Info 228 -  Stop UARC, Honolulu, Hawai'i)

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Matthias Reichl

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